What did you think of the second season?

JILL: Obviously we still have close relationships with some of the girls. So as friends we are cheering for them and like to see them do their thing and do it well. From that standpoint it was fun to watch. Of course it was also beautiful in many ways, a heartfelt story with Cori and Kacy. We were fortunate enough to meet and befriend them after season two. They are now good friends and we adore them so certainly a lot of good has come out of that for us.

Story-wise… I guess I wish they kept it a bit more on the high road. I know what people want to see and I know that sex sells. That’s what makes reality TV so appealing, the kind of the drama and salaciousness. But I think that there’s enough negative stereotypes around the lifestyle that I don’t think there’s a strong reason to spoon-feed it. And some of that might have been done. Not all of it.  As I said, some of the stories were wonderful — a lot of positive messaging. But on the flipside I don’t know that highlighting SO much sex, partying or promiscuity really helped change any perspectives out there in a positive way. I would hope for a bigger sense of responsibility with this kind of a platform.

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Do you think that you are going to watch the upcoming season? 

NIKKI: You know, it’s funny. We love Cori and Kacy and, obviously, Whitney and Sara…

JILL: I have a love/hate relationship with it (laughs). Like I said, it’s fun to watch your friends’ stories and see them succeed… I just wish the show were a bit different.

NIKKI: It could have been. But, you know, it’s people that we know and love so I’m sure we will watch it.

I remember as the first season was airing the original cast [Whitney, Rose, Tracy and Stamie] was posting all of these fun videos of you guys hanging out — doing brunch or going bowling, etc. It really seemed like you guys had formed a little posse. Was there a falling out among the group? 

NIKKI: I think that everybody just has their lives going on now. We went through an experience together. I think the unfortunate part of Season One is that they never introduced the cast to one another. We all filmed separately for all those months. It was a very secretive cast so we never connected during production. And finally when we all met each other it was like “Oh, wow. We all shared this experience. Wasn’t it anxiety ridden? Wasn’t it exciting?” And I think that we all bonded over it as a group when it was prominent in our lives. But throughout the last two and a half, three years… life just happens. We all have different interests and schedules. And for Jill and me, our interest right now is starting a family.

JILL: It was very easy in the beginning because we had such a strong commonality and we were going through this experience together.  At that time the show was very prevalent in our lives. I think that as the show has gotten farther and farther from our world… like Nik said, you just kind of get back to your life a little bit, and then it takes more effort, in fact, to maintain relationships. But we have very special friendships  with some of the girls. We can go a month and not see them, but then the minute we do, we all pick up right where we left off.

NIKKI: We’re close to Cori and Kacy. Obviously we all have common interests.

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What has been the greatest thing to come out of doing the show? 

NIKKI: Two things I would say. I think it allowed us a platform to be proponents for marriage equality. So that’s been tremendously powerful for us.

JILL: I think that any positive influence you can have on other women or people around the world in taking the fear out of  same-sex relationships and showing that they can be blossoming, fulfilling and wonderful things is a tremendously positive outcome. So being able to help any women, if we were able to do that, has been the most rewarding thing. And, like I said, some of the friendships we developed with the cast have been very special to us.

NIKKI: We also have this Facebook fan page that has touched so many women around the globe and helped so many people. They feel like they  are part of our world and since they had or have similar stories, they are able to comfortably share their fears and their dreams on our page. We really made a little safe, supportive community, which I think was much more successful for us as opposed to the show. I think that’s where we really made a mark on people’s lives, especially through our videos and being responsive on the fan page. And there have been so many love stories on our fan page where people have met from different states, even countries, and ended up falling in love and moving in together.

JILL: Crazy!

That’s incredible!

JILL: There’s like five I can think of off the top of my head — who are happily together, they’ve been together for two, three years. It’s crazy. I think our story and maybe our page just sort of attracts a certain group of women.

NIKKI: They’re really kind and…

JILL: Yeah, there’s a lot of family and relationship values present. We were the wedding story, we were the relationship story and now we’re the baby story. So the women that tend to follow us are either in those life stages or place tremendous value on those things.

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I think it’s also a continuation of the people who fell in love with Bette and Tina from The L Word. 

JILL: Yes. The women who are going to clubs and parties, very understandably so, are not tremendously interested in what Nik and I are up to. [laughs] Then again, they probably weren’t the ones who liked us when we were on the show.

It’s amazing. I mean there is nothing more powerful or more rewarding than getting an e-mail from somebody who says that you helped give them the strength to step out of a life they had been living that wasn’t right or authentic, and inspired them to walk towards something that was more truthful. I can’t tell you… to hear someone tell you that you  played a role in changing their life… it’s chilling. And it was all inadvertent, really. Certainly I don’t feel like I’ve done anything different than anybody else, but to think that someone was that greatly affected by me and the way I live my life, I can’t think of any compliment more beautiful.

Isn’t that what life is ultimately about? That’s why people have children, so that they can make some sort of positive imprint on somebody else’s life, teach them something.

JILL: Absolutely. Everybody goes about their day in this world and you just never know how you conduct yourself or how something you might do might affect somebody else. You put it perfectly. Really that’s what it’s all about.